The Tararua District Council has begun legal proceedings against owners of abandoned land in order to claw back hard-core rates arrears.
The orders were filed in the district court in February, with the process to advertise and sell the land by tender to begin at the end of this month, council's finance manager Cameron McKay has told councillors.
"Let's tackle properties we can make headway with and ratepayers in arrears who we can work with, rather than holding up the process," he said.
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"Our debtors team continues to work with people who are having difficulty and ensuring plans are in place for catch up.